==History==
The 8080 is often said to be the "first truly usable microprocessor". Its predecessor, the first 8-bit microprocessor [[Intel 8008]], had a rigid seven-level address call stack instead of a flexible Stack Pointer. The 8008 instruction set was itself based on the CPU board of the Datapoint 2200 computer.[https://www.righto.com/2023/08/datapoint-to-8086.html Source]
Note: Despite what its naming suggests, the Intel 8008 was developed independently of the [[Intel 4004]]. They were separate projects with distinct architectures and purposes, not a progression or derivative of one another.
Fun fact: the microprocessor isn't really an invention, but rather something that everyone knew would happen, and it was just a matter of waiting for the technology and market to be correct.
It was obvious in the late 1960s that a CPU board, built out of dozens of TTL chips, would eventually be put on a single chip. And it was just a matter of time for the density of MOS chips to improve to the point that it was practical. [https://www.righto.com/2015/05/the-texas-instruments-tmx-1795-first.html Source]
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